Laura Rice

Senate adopts rules for Ken Paxton impeachment trial

The rules are in: How Texas senators will manage the history-making impeachment trial of suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton.

Texas parks officials want to keep nearly 2,000 acres of parkland open to the public using eminent domain. Leaders in the county where Fairfield Lake State Park is located say not so fast.

First Twitter, now Reddit? The details are different, but another information-sharing site is seeing major owner/user conflict.

She has one of the most recognizable names in Texas history, but how much do you really know about Lady Bird Johnson? A new podcast explores.

Plus, the latest on severe weather across the state.

Everything you always wanted to know about the Texas energy grid

Texas senators met yesterday to talk about two divisive issues: property taxes and the impeachment trial of suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton. So where do things stand?

Can Texas’ power grid withstand the heat? We’ll get detailed on supply and demand.

A new book from journalist Dan Solomon, ‘The Fight for Midnight,’ reimagines Wendy Davis’ 2013 abortion filibuster as YA fiction.

And a new law protecting trap-neuter-release programs for cats will soon go into effect – but some say there’s a problem no one considered.

East Texas county lacks power during summer heat wave

Weekend storms knocked out power to tens of thousands in East Texas, amid dangerously hot temperatures and few options for cooling down. We’ll have the latest.

LGBTQ+ teens in Katy, outside Houston, are creating community in the midst of a culture war.

In San Antonio we’ll meet people who are building new lives after escaping the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Some North Texas neighbors found a solution to their fireworks problem – in church.

Plus, ever seen a ‘robot ump’? More changes ahead to Major League Baseball are already underway at AAA stadiums, including one in Central Texas.

What’s next after Abbott vetoes more than 70 bills?

The power of the pen: Gov. Greg Abbott has used his veto more this summer than he ever has before. What’s at stake?

Advocates for people with disabilities demanded some changes at the state Capitol this legislative session. We’ll hear more about how the issues fared from the Standard’s Shelly Brisbin.

Systems are pretty much back up and running in Dallas after a ransomware attack. A look at why these keep happening and how to prevent them.

Fentanyl in Mexico and the newer risks tainted drugs pose to those who travel there.

And it’s Juneteenth, also known as Emancipation Day or Freedom Day. We’ll visit a celebration in East Austin and talk to an author about enriching our understanding of the experiences of enslaved people.

My Name

Who are you? How do you anchor yourself? What’s in, as they say, a name? It’s something to ponder and explore in this Typewriter Rodeo poem.

Texas Extra: Austin’s Oblivion Access fest curates the ‘weird end’ of the underground music spectrum

This Texas Standard podcast bonus features an extended Q&A with Oblivion Access festival co-founders Dusty Brooks and Dorian Domi. Oblivion Access is a four-day music and arts festival taking place June 15-18 in downtown Austin focused on dark, experimental and underground music. This musically-rich interview includes songs from festival headliners TR/ST, Have a Nice Life, Chat Pile, Drab Majesty, Godflesh, RXK Nephew, Earth, and Tim Hecker.

An Ode to Crawfish Season

For the uninitiated, the tradition can seem strange or downright savage. Where are the utensils? The plates? You want me to do what with the head of that creature? But for many Texans, it’s a season worth celebrating all unto itself.

In Appreciation of Naps

The school year has wrapped up just as the political frenzy of presidential politics and state legislature drama — not to mention the actual weather — is heating up. Whether it’s bored kids demanding more attention or the news cycle draining your optimism, it can be exhausting. Maybe it’s time for a nap?

Perez Women Have Always Been Beautiful

Sometimes there’s universality in specificity. This Typewriter Rodeo poem was inspired by the author’s grandmother.

To Our Favorite Healthcare Team

It’s National Nurses Week. This Typewriter Rodeo poem celebrates the people that are there to help in some of the happiest and most difficult periods of life.

Turning 45

It feels like a milestone birthday. Perhaps fully “over the hill” but not yet to the next decade. This Typewriter Rodeo poem celebrates 45 for what it can be.

Prom

It’s that time of the year. For limos — or station wagons. For high heels — or flip flops. For flowers — or not. This Typewriter Rodeo poem celebrates all the different ways people do prom.

Earth Day

Saturday, April 22, 2023 is Earth Day. As the effects of climate change become ever more clear — what’s an appropriate way to mark the day? That was the question behind this Typewriter Rodeo poem.

The Price of Eggs

Maybe those egg prices at your local grocery store had you daydreaming about your own coop. That was the inspiration for this Typewriter Rodeo poem.

Green Thumbs

A little rain (or a lot) and some warmer weather in parts of Texas mean the ground has sprung back to life. This Typewriter Rodeo poem celebrates and investigates the human efforts to cultivate the earth.

April Fools

Check your calendar — and then check your coffee cup or your sheets for anything that might be extra. Approach social media with caution. Take big news in stride. The first day of April can come as quite a surprise. That was the inspiration for this Typewriter Rodeo poem.

The future of TikTok hinges on ‘Project Texas’

Another tragedy in Uvalde, this one involving human smuggling. We’ll have the details on events there and in Eagle Pass that left three dead over the weekend.

Crowds are expected at the state Capitol this week as lawmakers take up several bills involving the treatment of transgender Texans.

What does it mean for Texas to blacklist a bank, especially at a time when the industry is so volatile?

“Project Texas” could be central to preventing a U.S. TikTok ban. But what is it exactly?

And why is a Texas school district considering leaving a statewide organization of school boards that until now has had 100% participation from public districts in the state?